Lizards Lounge In Office

May 27, 1989|By DAVID LERMAN Staff Writer

JAMES CITY (COUNTY) — County officials may be criticized for how they provide public services or handle residents' complaints, but they have become experts in at least one aspect of their job: lizard duty.

"When I took this job, it didn't say I had to kill lizards," said Joan Kintigh, a part-time office assistant.

Kintigh spotted a 5-inch lizard darting across the office floor Thursday and scurrying away before it could be caught.

"I was very shocked," Kintigh said. "That was the fastest thing I ever saw. I would like to see him in his native habitat, which is outside. Not in the office."

The county Government Center, it seems, has become the resort of choice for local lizards, a sort of Fort Lauderdale for weary reptiles.

"They sun themselves on the sidewalk," said Larry Foster, the assistant county administrator. "It's not uncommon to see two or three leaving the back door here, especially on warm days."

Why would a lizard give up the fresh air and sunshine for the stuffy confines of county offices? "I expect he's lost," Foster said.

The county has no policy governing lizards.

Foster said the office lizard, if caught, would probably be exterminated, but added, "We're not going on a lizard hunt, though."

What has become of the missing lizard is unclear. The elusive reptile could not be found for comment Friday.

"As far as I know he's still relatively happy and alive," Kintigh said.